Parking on 14th Street Sidewalk Continues

The sidewalk along 14th Street, just north of Clark Ave, has pedestrians throughout the day & night because of the Civic Center MetroBus Transit Center, Civic Center MetroLink station, and the Gateway Transportation Center (Amtrak & Greyhound), so the south. The sidewalks aren’r packed, but the pedestrian traffic is steady. When events are held at the Scottrade Center or Peabody Opera House the pedestrian level increases dramatically as people make their way to these venues. Sidewalk space becomes scarce, especially if you’re going again the flow.

The other day, as I returned downtown on MetroLink, and I headed north on 14th to go home, people were headed into the Scottrade Center en mass. This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about these sidewalks being used for vehicles rather pedestrians:

• January 2007 Sidewalk Reserved for Circuit Attorney’s Office
• December 2011 Parking on 14th Street Sidewalk…Again.
• April 2012 Peabody Opera House Valets Caught Driving On 14th Street Sidewalk

The examples above were on the east side of 14th, the other day it was the west side of 14th getting squeezed:

The remaining sidewalk was tight as I met people heading to the event at the Scottrade. I find this unacceptable, I’m just not sure how to get it to stop.

— Steve Patterson

One ADA Issue at Fields Foods Corrected, Site Connectivity Issues Remain

In December I showed a blatant ADA-violation at Fields Foods, no ramps where the pedestrian route crosses a driveway. Once we got a break in the weather they began busting out concrete to build it how they should’ve in the first place. A friend and I took the bus there on February 22nd, I was pleased:

I’ve suggested ways to connect to the East once the last part of the site is developed, and I’ve suggested the route, above, be connected to 14th — assuming the 14th St entrance remains open. The other topic I raised was that of conducting multiple buildings within the same development.

The other day we needed to get something from Walgreen’s & Fields Foods, I was able to see how easy it would be to connect these two.  Of course, it would’ve been much easier if planned in advance.

Some might say this would result in the loss of two spaces. I’d argue if planned right from the start no spaces would have been placed in the way. The drive aisles are wide, asphalt is everywhere. Poor site planning isn’t an excuse for violating the ADA. Given the proximity and lack of obstacles, it can’t be argued as not readily achievable.

— Steve Patterson

Raised Crosswalks Should Be Used More Often

Everyone is likely familiar with what a crosswalk looks like, ramps on each side sloping down from the sidewalk level to the street level. Ever stop to wonder why the pedestrian must come down to street level then back up to sidewalk level on the other side of the street? With the raised crosswalk it is reversed:

Raised crosswalks are marked crosswalks that are raised to act simultaneously as a speed hump. Approach markings signal to drivers that the crosswalk is raised. Crosswalk markings or contrasting crosswalk materials (pictured) show this element is also a crosswalk. As both a marked crosswalk and a traffic calming element, raised crosswalks provide a superior safety advantage to pedestrians. Raised crosswalks are most appropriate on streets with only moderate traffic (<10,000 trips/day), such as a minor collector, or a residential street with a significant conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. This type of facility is particularly effective where heavily used trails cross a road. (Streets Wiki)

This is not a crosswalk you’d use across a busy aerial, like Kingshighway. It’s great in lower traffic areas where lower speeds are desired. Several crosswalks around the new Jazz at Walter Circle senior housing in East St. Louis are raised crosswalks:

The raised crosswalk makes the pedestrian network easier to plan & construct. My guess is the construction costs are probably a wash, but with greater benefits of increased pedestrian safety.

Related to the raised crosswalk is the raised intersection, I don’t know of a local example to show you.

— Steve Patterson

Sidewalks In Chicago

Last weekend my fiancé and I went to Chicago for a 3-day weekend. I’ve been numerous times since my stroke 6+ years ago, including last August, but each of those visits was by car with me as passenger or driver. This trip we took Amtrak so I could use my wheelchair since our primary reason for going was to see the Chicago Auto Show. I know here in St. Louis my chair can easily get stuck in just a tiny amount of snow so I was nervous about going to Chicago where they had lots more snow. As soon as we exited Chicago’s Union Station I realized how much Chicago values all modes of travel: auto, bike, bus, foot, chair.

You might be thinking “Sure, in the Loop. What about in the neighborhoods?” Friends picked us up for dinner Saturday night, driving us for Lebanese at Semiramis, located miles away from downtown at 4639 N Kedzie Ave.  The sidewalks, ramps & crosswalks were also cleared there.

— Steve Patterson

Crossing Tucker at Olive

I’ve written before that Tucker south of Washington Ave needs to be redone. Here’s a reason why: the ADA ramps are incomplete putting pedestrians like me in harms way.

Tucker is excessively wide so crossing it is bad enough, but when there’s no ramp you have to wait for traffic to break so you can use the north-south ramp. A ramp could be added here but this part of Tucker needs curb bulbs like the revolt stretch north of Washington Ave.

Of course bad situations exist all over the city.  As I go to various places in the city I encounter similar problems. I’m not sure how the city prioritizes which streets get new streetscapes, and when. It may take a while…

— Steve Patterson